Seamless brake



(No Model.)

B. MAEOHLING. BBAMLBSS BRAKE.

No. 577,768. Patented Feb. 23, 1897.

INVENTOI? WITNESSES I NITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

PHILLIP MAEOHLING, OF NEWV ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

BEAM LESS BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 577,768, dated February23, 1897. Application filed May 8, 1896. Serial No. 590,744. (No model.)

1?; all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PHILLIP MAEcHLINo, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Orleans, in the parish of Orleans and State ofLouisiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in BeamlessBrakes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in a beamless brake, and itsnovelty will be fully understood from the following description andclaims when taken in connection with the annexed drawings.

The objects of my invention are to provide a brake without a beam,thereby avoiding danger to the brakeman, also to provide shoes which areinterchangeable and which rest upon the wheel near the top and bottom,thus enabling greater pressure to be obtained; and this invention is animprovement upon Letters Patent No. 498,356, issued on May 30, 1893, toMaechling and Porter. I attain these objects by the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sideview showing shoe at top of wheel. Fig. 2 is a side view showing shoe atbottom of wheel. Fig. 3 is a top view of brake-gear. Fig. 4 is a sideview of shoe and arm. Figs. 5 and 6 are top views of rockerarms.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, 1 designates car-wheels; 2, car-track; 3, brake-shoes.

4 are rocker-arms of brake-shoes, and are rigidly attached to a shaftwhich rests in journal-box 21. 5 are levers which are adjustably securedto said shafts by keys 25, so they can be so changed as to increase ordiminish space from the rocker-arms on shaft to which they are attached,so that brake shoes can be thrown against the periphery of car-wheeleither above or below, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

6 is a spring-board to which j ournal-box 21 is attached, so thatrocker-arm 4 works in same.

7 is a truck-bolster.

8 is a car-bolster.

9 is a connecting-rod which is attached to one of the levers 5.

10 is a connecting-rod which is attached to the other of the levers 5 oninside of truckwheel.

11 and 13 are cross-pieces.

12 and 14 are connecting-rods.

15 is the brake-lever in center of car.

16 is a spring-rod.

17 is a coilspring.

. 19 is a pivot.

20 is a rod connecting the brake-lever with air-cylinder.

22 is a brake-shoe,whicl1 is interchangeable.

23 is a brakehead.

24 is a collar.

25 are keys.

26 is a resting pin in the rocker-arm against which the shoe falls, sothat it stands approximately in correct position to strike the wheelwhen pressure is applied.

In practice the brake operates differently from those in use from thefact that the brakeshoes bear upon the top or bottom of each Wheel, andwhen pressure is applied to lever 15 the brake-shoes are thrown againstthe top and bottom of each wheel, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thus givinga very heavy pressure upon the brake and stopping the car in much lesstime than can, be done with brakes now in use.

The brake-gear shown in Fig. 3is arranged so that its right end'isadapted to connect with shoes which are applied at the bottom of thewheels, as in Fig. 2, and its left end with those at the top of thewheels, as in Fig. 1. With respect to Fig. 2, for instance, the twolevers 5 are so set by means of their keys 25 and the collars 24 thatthe shorter connecting-rod 10 may be attached to the innermost lever('i. a, that nearer the center of thelength of the car-body) and thelonger connectingrod 9 to the outermost lever.

Movement of the piston in the air-cylinder through the connecting-rod 20turns the brake-lever on its pivot 19, throws the longer end of thebrakeleve r 15 to the right, and hence draws inward both rods 14,cross-pieces 13, rods 12, and one end of each cross-piece 11, and thelatterby this movement causes a pull on the longer connecting-rod 9 anda push on the shorter one 10, thus moving the upper extremities of thetwo levers 5 in proper directions to apply the brake-shoes to theWheels, as will be clear. At the same time the other set ofconnecting-rods 9 10 at this end of the car is similarly applying theshoes on the wheels at the other side; but my construction is such thatby the same brake-lever shoes which contact with their wheels near thetops of the latter can be simultaneously applied, as seen at the left ofFig. 3 and in Fig. 1. It is only necessary that the levers 5 be properlyset with respect to the length of the rock-shaft and the long and shortconnecting-rods 9 and 10 properly connected to give one lever 5 a pushand the othera pull, or the contrary, as desired. However, bothrockerarms 4 for one pair of wheels must stand either above or belowtheir shafts, as will be 0 car.

An advantage of my invention is its economical construction and ease bywhich the same may be operated, giving a pressure both upon top andbottom of wheel at same operation, also in having shoes interchangeableand which can be removed summarily.

Having described my invention and the manner in which the same is or maybe operated, I would say in conclusion that I do not limit myself to theprecise details shown in illustration, as the same may be varied to someextent, but

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a brake, the combination with a pair of wheels, rock-shafts havingarms, and shoes on the latter; of a collar on each shaft next itsbearing, a lever keyed to the shaft and longitudinally adjustablethereon so that the two levers stand in different planes, long and shortconnecting-rods leading from said levers to a common member, and meansfor swinging the latter so as to move the levers simultaneously inopposite directions, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a brake, the combination with a pair of wheels, rock-shafts havingarms, and shoes on the latter; of levers turning with said shafts, meansfor adjusting the levers longitudinally thereon, long and shortconnectingrods leading from the levers respectively to a common memberand pivoted thereto, and brake-gearing for swinging said member so as tomove the rods simultaneously in opposite directions, as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In a brake, the combination with a pair of wheels, rock-shafts havingarms, shoes on the latter, and levers rising from the shafts andstanding in different longitudinal planes; of long and shortconnecting-rods leading from the levers respectively and pivoted to oneend and to an intermediate point of a swinging member, a brake-leveractuated from a suitable source, a cross-piece connected with thebrake-lever, and a rod leading from the cross-piece and pivoted to theother end of said swinging member, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PHILLIP MAECHLING.

Witnesses:

JOHN MAEOHLING, LOUIS SANGER.

